Chrome is making it easier to keep track of browser tabs

Chrome is making it easier to keep track of browser tabs


An example desktop and phone displaying Chrome tab groups, connected by a blue line.
Tab groups will soon make it easier to revisit webpages across devices without bookmarking them. | Image: Google

Google is adding some new features to Chrome that aim to help users organize and keep track of their browser tabs across both desktop and mobile devices. The search giant announced in a new blog post that tab groups — which enable Android and desktop Chrome users to keep related pages together in custom-labeled groups — will start rolling out to Chrome for iOS starting today.

Once Chrome is updated, iPhone and iPad users can access the feature by opening the tab grid, long-pressing on a tab, and selecting “Add Tab to New Group.” Custom names and colors can then be assigned to the created tab groups to help keep them organized and easily identifiable.

A GIF file showing how to access the tab grouping feature on Chrome for iOS.
GIF: Google
Here’s a quick demo showing how to access tab grouping on Chrome for iOS.

Another feature that’s rolling out across Android and desktop Chrome apps is the ability to sync those saved tab groups across multiple devices. This should help users keep track of any in-progress activity without losing any work or specific tabs. If Chrome users start making vacation plans on a phone, for example, they can then group those open tabs together and automatically sync them to their desktop account if they want to move to a larger screen. Google says this update is coming to Chrome on iOS “soon.”

Chrome is also testing a feature that proactively suggests websites that were opened on other devices, which should reduce the need to bookmark them. The experimental feature will direct users to revisit specific webpages when they open a new Chrome tab on Android, iOS, and desktop. Google says it will begin testing “in a couple of weeks” but didn’t provide an ETA for general availability.